Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) Short Interest Update

Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 884,802 shares, a drop of 22.8% from the January 15th total of 1,146,274 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 454,333 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 454,333 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Trading Up 0.1%

Fomento Economico Mexicano stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $114.56. The stock had a trading volume of 272,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 454,716. The company has a 50-day moving average of $104.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Fomento Economico Mexicano has a fifty-two week low of $83.08 and a fifty-two week high of $115.90.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th were issued a $2.0531 dividend. This is a boost from Fomento Economico Mexicano’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $8.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.2%. Fomento Economico Mexicano’s payout ratio is presently 91.94%.

Institutional Trading of Fomento Economico Mexicano

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Laird Norton Wetherby Trust Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano during the fourth quarter worth approximately $527,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 83.8% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 32,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,333,000 after acquiring an additional 15,032 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 6,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $682,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 1,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its position in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 27,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,789,000 after purchasing an additional 5,561 shares during the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on FMX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $113.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays upped their price target on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $105.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fomento Economico Mexicano currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.50.

About Fomento Economico Mexicano

Fomento Económico Mexicano, SAB. de C.V. (FEMSA) is a Mexican multinational company active primarily in the retail and beverage sectors. Headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico, FEMSA’s operations span convenience store retailing, beverage bottling and distribution, and related logistics and consumer services. The company’s business model combines high-frequency retail outlets with large-scale beverage production and a regional supply chain network.

FEMSA Comercio, the company’s retail arm, operates a large chain of convenience stores under the OXXO brand and has expanded its retail footprint with complementary formats and services.